herthel



(Nd Model.)

F. KUKKUCK.

TRUNKGOVER.

10.268,694. Patented 1390.5, w82.

N. PETERS. Photo-Lithograph", Walhngun. D.

1 UNITEDi STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK KUKKUcILoE erreurs, MISSOURI, AssIGNoR oE To HENRY ARND, or SAME PLAGE.-

ONE'HALF TRUNK-COVER.

`aPEClIFICA'JJION forming part of Letters Patent No. 268,694, dated December 5, 1882.

l Application filed February 17, 1.882.` (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK KUKKUCK,

of St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, havel invented an Improved Trunk-Top, ,of which the following is a specification, reference beingl had to the accompanying drawings.

Ordinarily the tops of trunks and analogous articles, when made of wood, consist of two, or more barrel-Staves, jointed to each other 2o rel-stave shape-that -is to say, having the greatest are or swell in central crossfsection, the cross-sections from either side of the center being arcs of diminished height, so that the end portions of the cover have a like smaller are or curvature, the central part or swell being the largest curvature.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure l is a perspective View ol' my improved trunk-top. Fig. 2 is a plan 3o view of the same, having portions thereof broken away to show the direction of the grain of the wood of the respective layers. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional elevation on the-line fr. Fig. et is a transverse section on the line y y, through the swell of the top; and Fig. 5 is an end View to show the more diminished swell or arc. n

Referring to the letters upon the drawings, A represents the lower veneer; B, the center 4o veneer; C, the top veneer. Each vof said veneers (thin sheets of Wood) is of the required size to suit the entire surface or dimensions of the top. The said veneers are placed one over the other, the center veneer, however, having its grain running transversely, While the respective lower and upper veneers have their grain or bers in a longitudinal direction, as indicated. The said veneers are ljointed to- Vure considerably less transversely in the arc gether, and by referring to the drawings it will be seen that the greatest arc (swell) of the ve- 5o y neeringis on the transverse lineyy. (See Figs. 2 and 4.) The shape, when taken on line a' x longitudinally through the top, is the arc as shown in Fig. 3. Thus when taken either in cross-section or longitudinally the shape of the top is such as to possess a higher central portion, which tapers to lesser arcs tothe ends. (See Figs. 1,3, and 5.) In thus giving the veneer top the said barrel-stave shape the central portion or swell must not be strained, made thinner, or weakened, but must possess much stiffness and strength, which is a great desideratum, and the entire cover will thus be light, cheap, and durable.

While such tops might be made by hand of thin sheets of Wood formed into shape -by scooping or dishing ont blocks of wood, this method of course would be too expensive for commercial purposes. Each blank must meas- 7o of the circle described by its ends than it measures transversely in the arc of the circle described by a cross-section through its cen- Y ter. Therefore some practicable method must be employed for reducing the amount of material in the sheet at its ends as compared with the amount in its center without at the same time either thickening the ends or thinning the center. The best Way now known to me to make the blanks from sheets to be united to form the top is that set forth. fully and claimed in the joint United States Patent ot' myself and Henry Arnd, No.'262,956, dated the 22d day of August, 1882, wherein the ve-' neer sheets are described as first gored at their ends and then properly bent and united at the edges of the gores, and one to another on their faces.

It will of course be practicable, without departing from the substance of my invention, to make the extreme ends of my top nearly or perhaps quite straight, and to cut away or curve the sides at the edges, the main thing being to form a combined longitudinal and transverse curved or barrel-stave top of ve- 95 neers or thin sheets of wood.

Having thus described rny inventionmhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

As a. new article of manufacture, a trunk- 5 top composed of crossing layers of veneer,

rst gored at their ends, and then bent and united at the edges of the gores and one to another, so as t0 have the greatest arc or swell in cross-section through the center of the cover and arcs of diminished height from the cen- 1o ter to the extreme ends, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

FREDERGK KUKKUGK. Witnesses:

-WILLIAM W. HERTHEL, J oHN W. HERTHEL. 

